The Boston Celtics’ injury list added another name this weekend: Marcus Thornton.
Thornton did not travel with the team to Philadelphia after injuring his left calf during Sunday’s practice, and an MRI later revealed that the shooting guard had suffered a partially torn calf muscle.
“Marcus Thornton is going to be out probably a couple of weeks,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters before Monday’s matchup with the 76ers, per Celtics.com. “From what I can tell in the e-mail (I received), he’s got a small tear in his calf. So that’s unfortunate for him, unfortunate for us.”
The injury comes at an inopportune time for Thornton, who has been one of the Celtics’ most productive reserves over the past few weeks. The 27-year-old has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, including a season-high 21 points in a win over the Washington Wizards last Sunday.
It also leaves Boston very short-staffed at the two against Philadelphia, as fellow backup guard Marcus Smart also stayed home after injuring his Achilles on Friday. Smart’s prognosis is much more favorable, however, as he is expected to return to practice Tuesday, according to Celtics radio play-by-play man Sean Grande.
The Celtics also are without rookie swingman James Young (shoulder), leaving them with just 11 active players for Monday’s tilt.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
